In the MRI apparatus, an imaging space is limited to an area having high static magnetic field uniformity within the static magnetic field space generated by a magnet, in order to obtain a high-quality image without any distortion or degradation of contrast. Even under the constraint as described above, there is proposed a method to obtain an image of an area wider than the uniform static magnetic field space, for example, a total body image, by moving the table on which the test object is placed while an image is taken (e.g., patent document 1). The patent document 1 discloses a method in which an imaging plane is set horizontally with respect to the table moving direction, and a readout direction is set to be the table moving direction, whereby an image of wider range can be taken within a relatively short time.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (Translation of PCT application) No. 2004-537301